The present invention relates to improvements in or relating to privacy-enabled keypads.
Privacy-enabled keypads are used on public access terminals, such as automated teller machines (ATMs) and point of sale (PoS) terminals.
Such public access terminals typically require a user to enter a secret code, such as a personal identification number (PIN), on a publicly viewable keypad. Increasing instances of fraud at ATMs, such as shoulder-surfing to observe someone else's PIN, has led to use of privacy-enabled keypads. These privacy-enabled keypads typically employ upstanding, opaque shields that at least partially obscure the keypad, thereby making it more difficult for passers-by and fraudsters to observe the user's PIN while the user is depressing the relevant keys on the keypad.
Current and proposed privacy standards (such as ZKA in Germany) suggest that keypads on public access terminals should have a limited cone of viewability to increase privacy and security for the user. This has led to keypads having shields at least partially surrounding the keypads to restrict the viewing angle.
However, accessibility standards and legislation require that keypads can be easily used by people with a visual disability. By using shields around a keypad ambient light is reduced, so visually-impaired people have more difficulty in viewing and using the keypad. There is therefore a conflict in the requirements of the two sets of standards.
Some ATMs include lighting on a fascia of the ATM to illuminate the keypad; however, this does not work effectively for users with visual impairments because such users typically have to move their eyes very close to the keypad surface, thereby blocking out the fascia lighting with their head.